- Outsourcing and a changing landscape
- The decision to outsource
- Do your research and define your objectives
- Focus on communication and collaboration from the start
- Don’t just focus on the short term: think about the partnership
- Make use of free consultation periods or no-obligation trials
- Prioritise security and compliance
- Don’t write off overseas outsourcing as cheap and poor quality
- Conclusion
- Try Initor Global outsourcing service for free
Outsourcing and a changing landscape
It’s no secret that, driven by advancements in technology, new market entrants and shifts in client expectations, the accounting profession is undergoing significant changes. As an accountant, you’re now expected to provide more value-added services beyond traditional bookkeeping, tax and accounts preparation work. New technologies mean clients can move records seamlessly to online accountants offering lower fees. Clients are also seeking real-time insights, financial forecasting, and strategic advice. To meet these changing needs, accountants need to be agile and innovative.
This is where outsourcing comes into play. By leveraging the capabilities of outsourcing, accountants can streamline and augment their services, make operations more efficient and competitive. Whether it’s accessing a global talent pool, reducing overhead costs, widening the scope of services you offer to clients, or improving turnaround times, outsourcing presents many opportunities for growth and innovation.
Working with our strategic partners at Capium and other industry experts, we’ve written an eBook to help accountants with the insights they need to navigate the complex landscape of outsourcing, particularly when considering offshore options.
Our eBook demystifies the outsourcing process, addresses common concerns, and walks accountants through examples of best practice to make informed decisions to deliver growth and profitability. The eBook provides valuable insights from Practice owners and industry leaders based on real-life examples to illustrate the benefits of a well-executed outsourcing strategy.
You can access a copy of the full eBook by following the link below.
Download E-Book
The decision to outsource
Do your research and define your objectives
Before entering into any outsourcing agreement, accountants should complete extensive research on potential partners. Evaluate their industry reputation, track record, client testimonials, and the scope of services they offer. Check if they have experience working with accountants similar to you and understand your specific needs.
Set clear, measurable goals for your outsourcing project. Define what you aim to achieve, whether it’s reducing costs, accessing specialised skills, or improving service delivery. Clear objectives will help guide your strategy and provide a benchmark to measure future success.
Focus on communication and collaboration from the start
Effective communication with the outsourced accountants is crucial for successful outsourcing. Establish regular check-ins and clear reporting arrangements to ensure alignment and address any issues arising promptly. Use collaboration tools to facilitate seamless interaction between the onshore and offshore teams.
This is critical, says Alan Woods from Woods Squared: “We’d tried outsourcing a couple of times before we found our current partner. The mistake we’d made in the past was not spending the time to make our outsourcing partner a real part of the team.”
Don’t just focus on the short term: think about the partnership
Treat outsourcing as a long-term partnership rather than a short-term fix. Building a strong relationship with your outsourcing partner fosters better understanding, improves service quality, and enhances mutual trust. Consistent collaboration will yield better results over time.
Tushir Patel from Capium says: “Even with experienced outsourcing partners, some level of training and onboarding will be necessary. Invest time in aligning their processes with your firm’s specific requirements: continuous training ensures the outsourcing team is fully integrated into your operations and can deliver the desired results.”
Alan Woods agrees. “Because of the processes and systems that need to be put in place, as well as the investment in the relationship that you need to get the most out of an outsourcing partner, it makes sense to think about it as a longer-term arrangement.”
“That doesn’t mean having to provide a set amount of hours’ work that you can’t fulfil, or commit to a number of months using them, it’s about having the partner in place before you need them, so that if you experience sickness, parental leave, unexpected peaks of work, or recruitment challenges in the future, you’ve got a reliable fix in place that can minimise the impact on your clients while you work on finding the solution.”
Make use of free consultation periods or no-obligation trials
Most accountants prefer to test the outsourcing process with a small amount of work, such as bookkeeping, VAT returns or year-end accounts preparation. Outcomes can be evaluated for quality, technical accuracy, and turnaround against key performance indicators consistent with in-house targets.
And that makes sense, says Robert Grant from Initor Global UK : “For any accountant, but especially those new to outsourcing, there’s going to be a worry about getting locked into something that they’re not happy with or end up not using. That’s why trial periods – as well as flexible models like pay-as-you-go – are so important. It’s where any good outsourcing provider will demonstrate the value they can bring to your firm, and you’ll get a sense of their commitment to the working relationship, too.”
“Even once you’re through a trial period, regularly monitoring the performance of your outsourcing partner and providing constructive feedback can help address any issues early on and keep service standards high. Don’t be afraid to use key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and ensure that objectives are being met.”
Prioritise security and compliance
As with all things when it comes to accounting, compliance is key – and, as part of the onboarding process, accountants will need to ensure the outsourcing partner has robust security measures in place and is compliant with relevant regulations.
There are several ways you can share data with your outsourcing provider – whether through a secure file transfer protocol server, by granting remote access to your server, or sharing files via cloud systems – but the most important thing is that you’re confident in their IT and physical safeguards, including anti-virus software, secure VPN connections, and 24/7 surveillance where relevant.
As Tushir Patel says: “the flipside of that means both accounting tech and outsourcing providers have a responsibility to make sure data protection and client security are at the forefront of any exchange. The best providers treat it seriously and will have no problem discussing their processes with you – so make sure you insist on transparency from the start.”
Don’t write off overseas outsourcing as cheap and poor quality
“Offshore outsourcing sometimes gets a bad reputation within the industry, but it’s actually a very cost-effective and efficient way of working,” says Robert Grant.
Alan Woods agrees: “I can understand why the prospect of overseas outsourcing feels daunting – we were certainly cautious at first, but by investing in the relationship and finding the right partner, we’re now so much more agile as a practice. For any firms not convinced, using a pay-as-you-go model can be a really good way of testing the waters or dipping a toe into exploring how the right outsourcing partner could support your firm, both to alleviate immediate demand and to help you plan more strategically for the future.”
“Being on the cloud makes that really easy to do, too – at my firm, once we went through the due diligence process, it was just a matter of granting access to our tech stack, before letting our partners get to work.”
Conclusion
Outsourcing is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but with careful planning and the right partnerships, it can be a game-changer for accountants. With advancements in tech and collaboration tools, enhanced data security, and flexible models that make trialling outsourcing to find the right fit a feasible approach, outsourcing is an option for more accountants than ever.
And that’s just as well, says Nicholas Cheyne at Capium: “Having an online tech stack makes it so much easier to offer flexibility when it comes to outsourcing. Which is critical, because the challenges the industry is facing with recruitment and training, as well as higher client expectations, means firms are experiencing those real pinch points in peak work periods more now than ever before.”
“Done right, outsourcing can be a brilliant solution to that – acting as a reliable partner that firms can turn to as and when they need. It’s great to play a part in that, and I’m looking forward to supporting more firms along their journey.”
Try Initor Global outsourcing service for free
At Initor Global, we have been providing offshore services to UK accountants since 2006. Our customers include sole proprietors, as well as small and medium sized UK Accountancy Practices. Our outsourced tax, accounting and payroll services are suitable for all client engagements – from sole traders and micro businesses to SMEs and large companies.
We offer a free trial of up to 10 hours of accountant and promise to turn your trial work around within 72 hours.
If you are an accountant looking to outsource services, increase margins and help your client’s thrive, you can book a video call with one of Initor Global’s expert advisors using this link or send an email to hello@initor-global.co.uk.